Machine for fluxing and coating electrical conductors



Jan. 20, 1931. L. E. POOLE 13 17 MACHINE FOR FLUXING AND COATING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed Oct. 31, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1.. E. POOLE fi- 1,789,709

MACHINE FOR FLUXING AND COATING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Jan. 20, 1931.

Filed Oct. 51, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet 2 gmnnliot Jan. 20, 1931.

L. E. POOLE MACHINE FOR FLUXING AND COATING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed Oct. 31. 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Wail til

Patented Jan. 20, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LORA Efroorn, oF NDnRsoN, INDIANA, ASSIGNQR r IljE LCO- REMY CORPORATION,

' or DAYTON, orno, A CORPORATIONOF DELAVABE MACHINE FOR FLUxINe AND coATINe ELECTRICAL ooNDUo'roas Application filed October 31, 1927. Serial No. 229,582;

a This invention relates to the manufacture of armatures for dynamo electrlc machmes and particularly to the manufacture of bar Wound armatures which are used in electricmotors for starting internal combustion engines. v e l p I 7 One object of the present invention is to reduce the cost of manufacturing armatures by facilitating the preparation of the ar- 10 mature conductor leads for soldering to the bars of the commutator. In'the present in-- vention this Object is carried out by a machinefor fiuxing the ends of the armature leads and for coating the ends of the-leads with another metal such as tin to facilitate soldering.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of one formof the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a machine embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is aside elevation, partly in section, the section'taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3' is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 33 of Fig.2.

The fiuxing and tinning machine comprises a fluxing apparatus and a metal coat ing apparatus which are co ordinated in their operations in such a way that the operwith the minimum of effort. v

The fluxing apparatus comprises a flux trough 20 in which a suitable flux iskept in aliquid state approximately at the level 21. The trough 20 is supported by pedestals 22 upon a base 23 which is supported above the level of the floor'indicated at 24 by angle iron legs 25. The pedestal'sQQ are provided with central bores 26 in alignment respecwardly from and integral with the bottom of the trough 21. It will be noted that the tubular guides 27 l extend above the level of the flux in order that liquid :will not escape through the. guides. Below; the

a six armatures.

'27 each adapted to receivetheend 140 of an ator may load and unload the apparatuses K tivelywith tubular guides27 extending up pedestals 22 the table base 23 supports a plurality of guide brackets 28 each having a .guideway 29 in alignment with the tubular bore 26 of a pedestal 22 and with the tubular guide :27. Each guide bracket 28 and its companion guide 27 supports forpvertical movement a plunger 30 carrying on its lower end a roller 31 which cooperates with a cam 32 carriedby a shaft 33 supported beneath thebase 23 by'brackets 34, 35-and. The shaft 33 carries a sprocket wheel 37' a manner .to be. described later. 7

The fluxing apparatus shown in Fig.1 islarge enough to accommodate at onetime Hence there are Six guides which is driven by a sprocket chain 38 in armature shaft 4:1 supporting a core 42and conductors, only a few of which are shown at 43 for .the sake of clearnessz There are SIX plunge-rs 30 and six camsl32, andsthe cams arefixed upon. the shaft .33 and are spaced ,angularly 60"deg-rees }so that the plungers 3O will move through their l cycles of movement insnecession and will be out of .phase with each other .to an amount corresponding to 60 degrees'of rotation of the shaft-33'.' Each: cam 82is shaped soa-that duringabout 41:5 of its movement the a'rmature conductors 43 will be-descending below thelevel -21 of the flux; during about the next 45 the leads 48 will remain at rest, and duringthe-next 45;the leads will ascend and' during the next 225 the arma ture shaftwill be held inuppermost position. I

sThe"tinningapparatus isiconstructedgin a manner similar to theaconstruction ofthe mixing apparatus and comprises a trough-.50 for containing amolten metah-the level .of

whiclris indicatedat 51'. u The trough 5 0 is supported upon tubul-ar pedestals $52, each havinga central bore'53 in alignment with a tubularguide 54:, the upper {end of which terminates above the level of the molten metal 7 7 indicated at 51;, Belowthe table 23,'the tablesupports a plurality ofguidebrackets each having a, guide 56 in alignment with the pedestal53 andthe guide 54. Eachguide bracket ,and its companion guide 54 supports for vertical movement a plunger 57 carrying at its lower end a roller 58 adapted to engage a cam 59 driven by a shaft 60.

The tinnin apparatus will accommodate at one time as many armatures as the fiuxing apparatus for example, six armatures as shown in the drawmgs. Hence, therewill be six tubular guides 54 extending from the to 60'degrees of rotation of the shaft 60;

Each cam 59 is shaped so that during about 67 of rotation, it will lower the plunger and hence thearmature leads 43 into the tin bath, during the next 180 the leads will remain stationary in the bath, during the next 67 the leads will be elevated from the hath and during the next the armature will be maintained in uppermost position.

Theshaft is drivenby an electric mo.- tor 70 through a belt or chain drive including pulley 71 belt 72 and pulley 73, and through .a train of worm gears 74 and 75, the gear 74 being driven by a shaft 76 carrying the pulley 7 3, and the 'worm gear being attached to the shaft 60. The shaft 33 is driven at the same speed as the shaft 60 by a sprocket wheel 7 7 which drives the chain 38 for driving a. sprocket wheel 37 on theshaft 33. The time relation between the shafts 60 anc 33 is such that when the plunger, roller 31 on the extreme right hand of Fig.1 is uppermost,the plunger 57 on the extreme right of Fig. 3will be uppermost. The result of this arrangement can be explained more clearly by numbering the 'armatures from 1 to 6-inclusive beginning at the left hand side so that the shafts of the "armatures in the fluxing device will bear the numbers 411 412 4l3 41-4 '41-5; 41-43. The various armature shafts in the tinning apparatus are numbered 411a; 412a; LL-3a; 41 la; 41 5a; and t1-6a. Assume that the shaft number 41-6 has gone through a cycle ofmovernents in the luxing apparatus and has reached the uppermost position while the other live shafts are at lower elevations and are gradually ascending to the uppermost'position; and also that the shaft 416a in the tinning apparatus has reached its uppermost position after havinggone through a cycle of move ments to immerse its armature leads in the tin bath and withdraw them from the tin bath, and that the other five armature shafts numbered ll-1a; 41 -261; l1.3a; 4t14a and ll-5a are at lower elevations but are approachin' their uppermost positions. This status of t e machine will indicate to the one hand and replace it with the shaft 416 having fluxed but untinned leads, the placing of the shaft 41-6 being performed with the other hand. Following this operation the operator will place Within the empty guide 27 another shaft carrying unfluxed leads.

During the time in which the operator removes the tln work piece from the tinning device and replaces it with an untinned one removed from the directly adjacent fiuxing device, and then places an unfluxed work piece in the fluxing device, the shafts l15 and -l15a will have arrived at the uppermost position while all the other shafts are lower. The operator will then. know that he is to repeat these operations with respect to shafts sued and atl5 with an unfiuxed assent lily. These manipulations will then. herepeated inthe same manner with respect to the shaft assemblies located at new ll 1;; then with respect to the shaft assemblies 4l 3a and t13; and so 011 down the while have been lowered into the tin and flux baths respectively and have been again elevated to positions higher than any other in the tin and flux baths respectively.

Each cam 32 has been constructed so that V the armature leads will be submerged in the flux bath sufficiently to cleanse the leads from oxides and each cam maintains the shaft 41 in uppermost position for a time sufficient to permit the excess flux to drain from the leads. t r

Each cam 59 is so constructed that it will permit the shaft 41 to remain in lowermost position for a time sufficient for coating the leads with metal, but no longer than is necessary sothat the leads will not soak up an excess of coatingflm'etal, or being dissolved in it.

A single operator is all that is required for manipulating the entire machine. 7 He may keep six armatures in process at one time in the flux bath and six armatures in the tin bath and yet have time to removethe arma tures and replace them by others inthe manner already described. Y I

The means forheating the metal trough 50 has not been disclosed, but it. will be understood that any suitable heating me'ans may is enclosedby a refractory. side wall 81 and 82 and bottom wall 83 and a heavy cast metal that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

\Vhat is claimed is as follows: 1. A machine for treating armature conductor leads preparatory to attaching them to a commutator, comprising in combination, a trough for contaimng a liquid, means for receiving the lower end of an armature shaft and for vertically guiding the same, said armature shaft carrying the armature conductors with the leads thereof extending downwardly, and means for supporting the armature shaft upon its lower end and for causing the shaftto move" vertically.

2. A machine according to claim 1 in which the armature shaft guide is a tubular member which extends upwardly from the bottom of the trough and'terminates above the level of the liquid in the trough, and a rod extends through the bottom of the trough and into the guide, and a rotatable cam located below the trough operates the rod.

3. A machine according to claim 1 having plurality of tubular guides each adapted to guide an armature shaft for vertical movement and each receiving a vertically movable rod for supporting an armature shaft, an operating shaft, and a plurality of similar cams attached to the shaft and eachoperating a rod, the cams being so located upon the shaft that the rods will rise tothe uppermost elevation in succession.

A machine for fluxing and metal-coating the armature leads of an armature comprising, in combination, an elongated trough for containing a liquid flux, an elongated trough for containing a molten metal. the second trough being located parallel to the first and at a higher elevation, a plurality of tubular guides arranged in a row in each trough. and

extending upwardly from the bottom of each trough, each guide receiving an armature shaft supporting conductors with their. leads extending downwardly, two rows of vertically movable rods r ceived by the rows of 7 guides respectively, power-operated, parallel shafts mechanically connected to operate at the same speed, each shaft carrying cams for operating respectively the rods of one of the rows of rods, the camsof each shaft being so located that the rods will rise to the'uppermost elevation insuccession, and so that an armature in a certain position adjacentthe fiuxbath will be elevated simultaneously with the elevation of an armature in acorresponding position in the metal-coating bath.

5. A machine for metal-coating the armature leads of an armature, comprising in combination, an elongated trough for containing 7 molten metal, a plurality of tubular guides arranged in a rowinthetrough andextend that the rods will rise tot-he uppermost el Wa-' tion in succession. I

6. A machine for fluxing and metal-coating the armature leads of'an armature, comprising in combination, a trough for containing a liquid flux, a trough for containing a molten metal, the second trough being lo cated adjacent to the first and at a higher elevation, a plurality of tubular guides arranged in each trough and extending upwardly from the bottom of each trough, each guide receiving an armature shaft supporting conductors with their leads extending downwardly, vertically movable rods received by'the' tubular guides, cam means for operating respectively the rods received. by the guides in'one trough i so that'the rods will riseto the uppermost elevation insuccession, and cam means for op-; erating the rods in the guides of the other troughso thatzthe rods willrise tothe uppermostelevation in successionand so that the armature in acertain position adjacent the 1 fluir' bath will be elevated simultaneously with the elevation of the'armaturein the corresponding position in the metal bath;

7. A machine for fiuXing and metal-coating the armature leads of an armature, comfpr'isingin combination, a trough for'contaim ing a liquid flux, a trough for containing a molten metal, the second trough being located adjacent to the first,'a tubular guide in each trough and extending upwardly from the bottom offea' ch'trough, each guide receiving an armature shaft supportingconductorswith their leads extending downwardly, two verfleshy-movable rods receivo'dby the gu idesref spectively, power operated-shafts mechant cally connected to o erated the same speed, eaeh shaft carrying "a cam for operating the rods sothat the; armatur'e in the fluX bath will be elevated simultaneously with theelevation of the armaturein the metal-coating bath.

8.7 A machine for coating the armature leads of an armature, comprising in combinat1'on,'a trough for oontainrng a hquid, a tubular guide arranged the trough and ei'rtend- 'ing upwardly from the bottom of the trough,

the guide receiving an armature shaft supporting conductors with their leads extending and pedestaland power-means so'construeted and arranged as to raise therods to the uppera;

a5 downwardly, a tubular pedestal supporting i said trough and aligned with the tubular guide, a movable rod receivedby the guide most elevation whereby said armature leads are raised from the liquld 9. In a machine for coating the armature leads of an armature comprising, the combination of a trough containing a liquid, with a tubular guide extending upwardly from the bottom of the trough, the upper end of said guide terminating above the level of the liquid, the guide supporting an armature shaft supporting conductors with their leads downwardly, and means operating in said guide for causing the shaft to move vertically in the guide.

10; In a machine for treatingthe armature leads of an armature comprising, the combination of a trough for containing a liquid, with a plurality'of tubular guides extending upwardly from the bottom of the trough, the upper end of said guides terminatingabove thelevel-of the liquid, each of the guides sup.-

' porting Vanarmature shaft supporting conductors with theirjends downwardly, a pluf vessel vfor containing a coating material, a pluralityof-sockets within the vessel and ter- 7 rality of devices each operating in a guide for causing a shaft 'iZOTflOVG vertically in a grade, and power operated means for operating said devices in succession.

11. A machine for fiuxing and metal coat ing the armature leads of an armature, comprising in combination, a trough for, containing a liquid flux, a trough containing molten metal, the second trough being located adjacent to the first trough, a plurality of tubular guides extending upwardly from the bottom of each trough, the upper end of said guides terminating above the level of the liquid contents in the trough, each guide receiving-an armature shaft supporting conductors with their leads extending downwardly, a plural ity of deviceseach operating in a guide for" causing a shaft to move vertically in a guide,

and power operated means associated with the shaft moving devices of each-troughfor causing said devices to operate in succession.

12. ,A machine for coating armatureconductor leads, comprising in combination, a

minating above thelevel ofcoating material each socket being adapted to receive the lower end portion of an armature shaft-which sup ports conductors the leads of which extend downwardly into the vessel, anddevices for causing the shafts to move concurrentlyand to arrive at lowest and uppermost positions in succession. 1 7

In testimony whereof I hereto a ffix my sigl nature. I

LORA E. POOLE; 

